Saint Leo alumnus and executive John Picciano ’69, on
behalf of his entire family, has donated $1 million to the
university to endow scholarships for students with interests and
talents in music and the fine arts. The scholarships are to be
named for Mr. Picciano’s late brother Carmine, who was also an
alumnus and graduated in 1976 after studying music education.

Mr. Picciano said Thursday during a reception in the
Music Building at University Campus that at Saint Leo, he “was
given a chance that most people were not given.” Under the caring
tutelage of Benedictine monks and nuns who then comprised the
faculty, he was inspired to leave behind his previous ways of
behaving as an underachieving teenager and grow into a student who
learned he “could be creative in his thinking.” His brother Carmine
also benefitted from the opportunities at Saint Leo, he recalled,
and spent his career in the insurance industry while continuing his
appreciation for saxophone and piano. Members of the Benedictine
community from Mr. Picciano’s time at Saint Leo were present at the
Thursday reception so that the alumnus could acknowledge their
lasting influence.

Today, Mr. Picciano is CEO of Oglethorpe, Inc., a
hospital management company based in Tampa, FL, that directs the
operation of eight behavioral health facilities in Florida, Ohio,
Louisiana, and Texas. He also serves as CEO of the new Darryl
Strawberry Recovery Center in St. Cloud, FL, which offers treatment
for people struggling with drug abuse, and which was co-founded by
former Major League Baseball player Darryl Strawberry.

University President Arthur F. Kirk, Jr., expressed
his gratitude at the reception, noting that “more and more students
are pursuing their passion for music” while pursuing a broad
variety of majors. Music is an element important to offer as part
of Saint Leo’s values-inspired, liberal-arts-based curriculum, Dr.
Kirk said, as “it helps provide a fully rounded education.”